Marketplace for Friday, March 16, 2012

After This American Life aired a story by Mike Daisey on Apple manufacturer Foxconn in China, Marketplace's China correspondent Rob Schmitz delved deeper into the background and facts. We hear from Schmitz today about his reporting, which revealed that Daisey lied on many counts about what he found. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has decided to cut back on field organizers and media buys. Consumer prices rise the most in 10 months. And our commentator says preserving funding for public higher education would improve the economy.

The monologist Mike Daisey’s account of Chinese factory conditions in “The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” made people think differently about their iPhones and iPads. But after an adaptation aired on This American Life, reaching China, an investigation there of his allegations found they were fabricated. Given other news reports on the conditions, will that matter?

The four-tenths percent rise in consumer prices was largely due to gasoline prices. But inflation remains tame. That's something the Federal Reserve works hard to preserve because of bad memories from another time.